The River Forest District 90 school board voted 6–1 in favor of a new teachers’ contract, which its chief financial officer called “unsustainable.”
After months of negotiations, the River Forest Education Association last week ratified a contract that had expired in August 2025, prompting District 90 to convene a Special Meeting on March 11 for a vote. The agreement commits the district to rising personnel costs despite projected deficits, raising the likelihood of staff reductions or higher property taxes in the coming years.
“I don’t believe that the agreement that the union [River Forest Education Association] ratified last week meets these criteria,” said board member Eric Isenberg.
He cited three criteria communicated by District 90 to residents, including: fair compensation for staff, financial stewardship for taxpayers, and commitment to student success.
“If we agree to this contract, we bind ourselves to eliminating staff positions and perhaps to raising taxes as well… I do not believe this contract serves the best interest of taxpayers and kids, which is why I must vote no,” said Isenberg, who was the only dissenting vote.
Total revenue for District 90 in fiscal year 2025/2026 is $26,444,500, with 84.7% coming from local property taxes. Total expenses are $27,553,700, with 83.9% directed to staff compensation. Projections from December 2025 show property tax receipts must rise by $4,840,000 to cover a $5,522,400 increase in spending by fiscal year 2029/2030. Because those projections were based on an earlier, less generous contract, they likely understate the district’s future spending.
“Absent a new source of revenue, the board does not have a way to take on a four-year commitment to starkly higher costs,” said Isenberg, citing deficit spending in five of the last seven years and mentioning “eliminating staff positions becomes inevitable.”
“The current dance of deficit years and surplus years will turn into a steady march of unsustainable deficits,” Isenberg said. “But that’s based on a forecast after all, and the board need not sit back and let the forecast play out.”
Although negotiations have gone on for almost a full year, it may not be a coincidence that the board approved the contract one full month before an important deadline for a “Reduction in Force.” The contract states, “If a teacher is honorably dismissed due to a reduction in force, the teacher will receive a written notice of honorable dismissal on or before April 15th of the school term in which they are honorably dismissed.”
The reported number of teachers employed by District 90 varies widely, with 117.5 reported by the Illinois State Board of Education, 107 reported in its Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund reporting, and 145 referenced by the RFEA. The district does not provide a public document associating staff positions with names and benefits. These discrepancies complicate efforts to assess staffing levels and long-term costs.
Superintendent Ed Condon led the district’s DEI initiative, which began under board President Ralph Martire. The initiative focused on achieving equal outcomes between Black and White students, partly by adopting curricula designed for student-centered learning and reduced emphasis on direct instruction from teachers. Still, district records show that more staff were hired even as enrollment declined. Condon, who announced his retirement at the end of the school year, told local media, “This contract helps to ensure stability for the district moving forward.”
Board President Katie Avalos, a third-term member and DEI advocate, supported the contract. She told local media, “I think Eric was thoughtful and purposeful with what he shared. We don’t always agree, but we respect each other’s opinions.”
A report by the Wednesday Journal noted Isenberg’s dissent and procedural details of the contract vote but did not include the district’s budget deficits, projected future shortfalls, potential impact on staff levels or property taxes, discrepancies in reported teacher numbers, or the effect of curricular and DEI initiatives on staffing.
